Your dedicated diarist caught the 7.30 train from Harrow & Wealdstone and was in Cheapside in the City of London by 8.30. At this time, other than stewards and security staff the ‘crowd’ numbered four or five and some of them might just have been loiterers.

I’d chosen a City street to view the women’s marathon to avoid the crowds that would be in the Mall for the start and finish. I would miss the drama of the finish, but the great advantage of where I was, was that I would see the runners do the six mile circuit three times.